


Swimmer's Tide

by WthTorke



Category: Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors, Predators (2010), The Predator (2018)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Sex, Alien/Human Relationships, Exophilia, Gay, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Gay Panic, M/M, Teratophilia, The predator - Freeform, Yautja, predator - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:47:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24066844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WthTorke/pseuds/WthTorke
Summary: After a successful mission on Earth, Ap finds himself with difficulty to forget one face he saw.
Relationships: Yautja (Predator)/Reader, Yautja/Human, Yautja/Male reader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Not my first work, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Ap stands for Assassin Predator, a.k.a Ultimate Predator, Upgrade Predator, and so on, that big Yautja from the 2018 movie lmao, enjoy!

AP had found him during a hunt on Earth, he wasn't the tallest or strongest human he had ever seen in his life, but there was just something about him. He knew they we compatible ever since he laid his eyes on him, maybe it was the small amount of human DNA in his blood that made him feel like so.

Or maybe AP just never paid attention to humans in this way before, not that any of them deserved this kind of attention coming from him, he knew of stories and rumors of Yautjas deserting their clans for human mates and some going as far as to bring them into their own clans-, as if they were _equal._

Disgusting.

Humans are pests, they are everywhere and many at once, weak as anything, needy and arrogant, annoying prey.

AP wasn't really expecting to fall for one, not in a million years, but then again, maybe that was what humans called ‘karma’. Nobody hated human mates like AP did….before he met his own, that is.

AP first saw him at what he supposed was his home, doing something AP never really saw a human do,

Swimming.

He swam peacefully around the vast pool in his backyard, moving his limbs freely with a calm expression on his face.

The sun had yet to fully come up, AP had completed his mission and was returning to his ship in the woods when he heard the water splashing.

The pink and orange hues from the horizon blended with the pool's blue ones, casting an almost heavenly light onto his skin, marbled as the light shifted with the waves his hands made in the water, short hair wet and stuck to his forehead, mouth slightly open as he huffed, trying to regain his breath.

AP had to go back to his clan, report his mission and well, go on with his life, but something called his attention back to the human male as he lifted himself off of the pool and reached for a nearby towel, probably done with his morning exercise.

AP didn't know if that man was beautiful to human standards, for he didn't detect anyone else in the house, or any sign that someone lived there with him, he didn't seem undesirable, but AP didn't know anything about human mating either.

But AP would be lying if he said he wasn't...captivated, for a second.

Upon arriving at his mothership, AP reported to his superiors and walked back to his quarters to rest from the trip. As he settled down, his mind kept drifting back to that one moment on earth.

AP knew himself well enough to know he was doomed, for the first time he wanted to touch a human but with no murder intent behind it, he was disgusted and ashamed, he went through so much to be the best enforcer, the strongest, the fastest-,

And all of that to unite himself to a _human?_

Well, not that anyone would say anything, considering AP's impeccable challenge matches and that he could beat the lights out of anyone in this ship if he so much desired to. If they appreciated their lives, they would stay quiet.

He sounded like a youngblood, foolish, cocky, and well, _foolish._

He saw this human _once._

Maybe if he saw him again, observed him? Maybe if he studied him…Maybe then he'd come back to himself and his firm opinion on how pathetic and useless humans are.

"I'll be going to earth again", he informed his commander, the very next day.

"So soon? There were no calls, that quadrant is dealt with for now. Unless you're going for...recreational purposes?"

Recreational, sure.

"I have my eyes set on some human maggots I found during the quest". 

"Then good luck on your hunt, may Paya be with you", his commander told him, like he told everyone who went somewhere to hunt, being a commander sure sounded tedious.

AP restocked his ship that same day, not being one for patience, he debated whether or not bringing his dogs with him, and decided he shouldn't underestimate the humans, even if he didn't plan on doing anything too serious in their home planet.

Opening the space bridge, AP turned his ships invisibility on and set the course to where he pinpointed the human's house, he wasn't stopping in the same forest for he wasn't stupid, it would be a walk but he didn't mind nor care, as long as he did what he had to do, it was fine.

-

"Right there, see?" 

"No, not really, are you sure you saw uh...what did you say it was?"

"The light shifted there as if there was a...well I don't know, like when you splash water and it’s transparent but still visible? But up there"

"I think you just had water in your lashes man, there's nothing up there, or maybe it was some mist? You said it was early morning"

"I don't know...it sure did freak me out bad, ran inside as soon as I saw it" 

"What, you thought someone was coming for you? Out of everyone around here? There's a drug dealer like next door"

"You heard about the bloody murders they found last week?"

"Oh come _on"_

"I'm totally serious, dude!"

"I know you are, that's why we're going back inside and we're going to play some video game and drink that whole cooler of soda I bought, you promised me, come on", his friend said, grabbing his arm and all but dragging him back inside.

Glancing one last time close to the trees, he sighed and got inside.

-

AP landed on earth in the opposite direction of his initial mission, stretching his legs outside his ship as he scanned the area, deciding where he’d place his traps to ensure no one would find his ship while he was out.

Taking a brief look at his map, AP glanced at the direction where the house would be and set for it, jumping up the trees and past them, going as fast as being silent allowed him to.

-  
“I think you’re overreacting man, I mean-, fuck how did you get that boost, fuck you! I mean, they did say on TV that the murders were like animal-based or some shit”, his friend said, turning the controller according to his Mario Kart character, like it’d help him in any way. “Animal-based? What the fuck-”,

“Yeah like some bear on steroids killed those people and shit-, fuck!”

“One of the men was ripped in three, dude, _three! Three different parts of one single body!”_

“It’s the police report, not mine, now stop fucking cheating you rat”, his friend laughed, pushing his arm as they finished their match.

“Police report my ass, they wouldn’t drop the classes if it was just some bear…”, He said, getting up from the couch, hand going through his short locks as he walked over to the fridge.

“Are you eager to go back to college? Cause I sure as fuck am _not,_ _Mr.Merman.”_

“Shut the fuck up, _Ethan”_ , He snapped, closing the fridge. “I’m gonna go out to buy food, you stay here and entertain yourself while I’m out, try not to break anything, will you? Ass”, he rolled his eyes, grabbing his wallet from the counter and heading out.

“Get me a turkey sandwich!”, He heard as he slammed the door closed, jogging down the stairs from the front porch and down to the street, the sun was beginning to set, orange and golden hues spreading against his skin and clothing as he walked. 

He walked for about a minute before the very same dread feeling came back to him, made his hairs stand on end, and a chill run down his spine, jaw tightening shut, he stopped walking, slowly looking around. He felt like prey, like a deer staring into the fast coming lights that would surely be his death.

The street was one that seemed to come out of a horror movie, eerily quiet, only leaves hustling about. No children playing on the sidewalk, working people probably already inside their houses, only him and whatever was watching him about.

Looking up at the trees on the other side of the street, he squinted, trying hard to see anything and dreading seeing it as well. Seconds passed by and he decided to brush it off, if it was the murderer, he would have been dead already, and if it really was ‘a bear on steroids’ like his friend said, he’d hear it from a good distance, right?

“Right…” He muttered to himself, resuming his walk down the street to the grocery store.

From up the trees, cloaked, AP chuckled to himself. ‘At least he’s not stupid, or well… _that_ stupid. AP had gotten to the house only to find _another_ male there, one he didn’t know of, it wasn’t his human, he didn’t care. Seeing the trail of his human’s scent out the door, AP followed it until he spotted him, while human wore too much clothing to a Yautja’s liking, the tight fabric clung to his form, clearly displaying the adapted body of a swimmer. Tall, broad shoulders, long limbs, toned muscles, thin waist, strong legs. 

AP’s head slowly cocked to the side as he so shamelessly watched the human’s legs flex as they walked, gaze slowly coming back up to his rear, lingering there for a few seconds before moving upwards to his back.

They were definitely compatible.


	2. Chapter 2

AP watched as his human strolled down the street and stopped at a ‘store’, coming back out a few minutes later, bag in hand. Food.

As night truly fell over them, AP no longer needed to cloak to blend into the trees and shadows.

He watched and waited as his human’s friend waved and got out of the house, shutting the door behind him, picking up what his system identified as a ‘bike’ and rode off, probably to his own house.

Leaving AP and his human alone.

The house had two floors. Small in size, but it fit his human’s needs, he could tell. 

Tired of watching from afar, AP felt bold enough to hop on a tree closer to the house, cloaking himself in the process. His vision telling him where his human was exactly. Downstairs. Washing the dishes.

Which should take him a few minutes.

AP looked at the window’s lock and huffed in amusement. No wonder why he was so afraid, his security system was shit. Ap slid a claw under the lock and pressed, snapping it open with minimal effort. Lifting the window with his finger until it reached the top with a click.

The window was somewhat small, but he could still get in if he was careful enough.

Taking one last look at his human’s last position, he saw that he remained in the kitchen, still washing the dishes as he predicted. Wonderful. Time to find out more about his...future mate.

Mate-to-be? 

_Human-to-be?_

Whatever.

AP shook his head and slowly slid his body through the window, hands keeping him steady, breathing controlled as he got in, closing the window behind him. Standing up slowly, AP looked around. Bedroom.

He was in the human’s bedroom.

‘Might as well have fun’, he thought. 

AP was careful with his steps, for there was no way around it, AP was heavy. Stepping close to the furniture, AP avoided the creaking wood with success, looking around at the human’s belongings. Bathroom in the corner, ‘Laptop’, wardrobe, ‘television’, ‘Xbox’, bed, boring.   
AP’s attention perked when he spotted an aquarium close to the bed. His human sure did like water, didn’t he? 

Angelfish, Bristlenose, Corydoras, and a snail.

AP huffed in amusement as the fishes absolutely darted behind the algae as he came into view. Eyes drifting down the aquarium, another thing caught AP’s attention.

Pictures. Framed pictures.

AP cocked his head to the side as he picked one fo them up. His human, the other male he saw today, and another male.

Only that the other male’s face was scribbled over.

The original picture would have been his human hugging the scribbled male while his friend leaned against him. But male humans didn’t often hug this way, not that he knew.

Then it dawned on him.

A lover.

No, impossible. There’s no sign of-. AP’s confused expression turned to one of realization. ‘They’re not together anymore’, he thought, ‘that’s why he only wrote over that one’s face.’

“Hm.” AP huffed, putting the picture back down. So he wouldn’t have to kill any other possible mates, it seemed. Good.

He wouldn’t show mercy upon no human that got in his way.

“‘Cause we’re the masters of our own fate~.”

_Fuck._

AP’s head snapped back to the door, his human approaching it.

AP’s cloaked form all but flung itself to the corner of the room, then up the ceiling, hands, and feet holding him up like a spider against the walls. 

“We’re the captains of our own souls. There’s no way for us to come away.” The human sang as he opened the door, light from the corridor sweeping into the room as he walked in. “Cause boy we’re gold, boy we’re-, what?” He heard his human ask, slightly confused as he walked over to the aquarium.  
“Guys? Where the fuck-,” He said, bending down slightly, the fishes coming out as he did, “Oh, there you are,” he smiled, “Thought you had-...what the fuck?,” He said, upset.

AP had to slightly crane his neck to see why he was upset, only to see his human holding the framed picture he was holding seconds prior.

AP heard a heavy sigh coming from his human and watched as he opened the frame, taking the picture out.

“First my fishes are scared and I didn’t leave you there, that’s for sure.” He said, opening a drawer and fishing scissors from it, “Thanks for the warning, gay ghost.” He said to the air as he cut his ex-boyfriend off the picture, the scribbled part of the picture falling to the floor. “Sorry Brian...Or better yet, fuck you, the gay ghost has spoken.” He chuckled, placing the picture back in the frame and setting it back close to the aquarium. 

‘Gay ghost’, AP thought, centuries of training and dedication, and suddenly he’s reduced to a ‘gay ghost’. 

At least he knows that his human and his compatibility _is_ real, anyway.

His attention came back to his human as he started singing again, this time completely locking AP’s gaze on him.

“Cause boy we’re gold, boy we’re gold-,” He sang, taking his shirt off, “And I was like-, take off, take off-. Take off all your clothes.” He threw the shirt at the corner of the room, just below AP, hands moving to his belt as he walked towards the bathroom, “Take off, take off...Take off all your clothes…”

AP lost track of time and place, eyes dilating as he ate every inch of his human’s sight with his eyes. AP’s chest heaved with the fresh wave of his scent, senses overfilled with everything that was _him._

“They say only the good die young. That just ain't right, 'Cause we're having too much fun-. Too much fun tonight, yeah.” Belt and pants fell to the floor.

"And a lust for life, and a lust for life, and a lust for life-, and a lust _for life-,_ keeps us alive, keeps us alive-," he kept on singing, closing and locking the bathroom door behind him.

AP slowly descended from the wall, feet touching the ground without a sound, one of his clawed toes touching the discarded shirt. Which he picked up, being rewarded yet again with the sweetest scent he'd ever known in his life.

Taking a brief look back at the bathroom door, AP heard the shower working, his human's singing slightly muffled by the door and water running, no less enticing. 

It took AP every drop of self-control not to open the door and just close the space between them. To be united with his mate. To protect and nurture. To feel and get lost into.

To never let go.

"My boyfriend's back-. And he's cooler than ever-."

AP shook his head slightly to snap off the trance he was in. Clutching the shirt in one hand as he walked over to the window, glancing at the bathroom door one last time before opening the window and going out again.

Back at his ship, AP struggled to rest, his mind replaying his mate's song over and over. Voice smooth and sweet, intoxicating.

Holding up the shirt he took with him, AP purred as the soothing scent invaded his senses again, easing his racing thoughts to a bearable rhythm. AP knew it wouldn't satisfy him for long, however. Soon he'd need _more._

He needed all of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm WthTorke on Tumblr and Twitter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

The night was hot and damp inside AP’s ship, as it should be. But even then he felt empty, of course, he didn’t have his mate with him. Yautjas can withstand being away from their mates, but when your mate doesn’t even know of your existence it can be...frustrating.

AP came to Earth with the purpose of really finding out about this human. A human that liked to spend his time in the water, as if he was born for it. Human this that absolutely had AP tied down from the very beginning, just by being himself. No show offs, no mating season fling that evolved into something more, no fighting for it, not on his part, he simply...was.

And that drove AP crazy.

Crazy with want, with need and with an absolute determination of making him his. Not by force like female and sometimes even male Yautjas demanded, no. AP felt no desire of beating him into submission. He’d never forgive himself for doing so, he thought.

AP growled at the panels of his ship, showcasing the time. He still had a whole night of thinking ahead of him. Not a drop of sleep was evident in his eyes.

Going out and hunting something didn’t seem interesting in the slightest, that was not the point this time. His point was asleep in his house at this time, thinking some ghost had given him advice from the otherworld when in reality it was just AP being stupid.

Stupid.

He’d heard about that. ‘Matehood makes you stupid’. Heard it from elders, elders too old to have any patience for ‘youngster love’, as they said. Matehood was about being stronger as one. Best parts of two halves uniting for a greater good. He could understand that now, really.

AP’s instincts yelled at him from every direction possible.

Yelled at him to move, to go after him, not to give out any chances for failure, to win the race. Yelled at him for being stupid, he was human and AP was obviously not, how could it even be possible? 

Yelled at him for letting himself go that easily. Stupid.

But if AP was stupid for wanting it, his mate would be even more for accepting it, if he did accept him.

Gods, AP hoped he was stupid as well.

-

It was barely 5 am when AP all but flew out of his ship, cloaked, making a different route to his mate’s house, birds flying out of his way in fear. AP went through his plan yet again as he jumped from tree to tree. He couldn’t just burst through his front door and drag his mate kicking and screaming to his ship.

He could, but he wouldn’t.

AP’s plan only consisted of him succeeding. He didn’t have plans if he failed, which was the most dangerous thing anyone could ever do. If he said no, if he denounced his presence on his planet or simply couldn’t hold the secret they could both be done for.

Well, not AP. AP could run away, get on his ship and go back home and that would be it. But his human...They would kill him for knowing about him.

It had to work.

Growling, AP took extra effort in his movements to get there faster, which paid off wonderfully, for when AP arrived he was graced by the gods with yet another sight of his mate walking towards his pool.

Checking the time, 5:43 AM.

AP’s hands had an iron grip around the tree he supported himself on as he watched. His human dropped his towel on a nearby chair, walking towards a small shower head close to the fence, wetting his body briefly, shaking his head, limbs trembling slightly from the morning cold. Yawning one last time he walked over to the edge of the pool, the rising sun casting, yet again, the heavenly glow against his skin, his breath shining briefly against the light before disappearing in the air. 

AP’s claws sunk in deeper into the wood as his human looked up at the place where he first saw him. The tree where AP had been standing on when he first felt the connection between them.

His gaze lingered there for a moment as if expecting that same form to show up. The air to bend like he swore he’d seen that morning. The one thing that had been plaguing his thoughts for days now, the feeling fo always being watched.

Sighing, the human shook his head slightly before turning his attention back to the pool before him. Swimming. Right.

He was going to swim.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a second, basking in the sunlight, still too cold on his wet skin, shining through the droplets as if he was made of diamonds instead of too weak flesh. Blinking once, he braced and jumped in the water, the splashing of his landing turning into smooth waves that barely broke the surface as he glided through them, resurfacing when he could truly feel his limbs waking up. The water was icy cold, embracing him all around, prickling his muscles with its sharp coldness, clearing his mind in the process.

From the trees, claw scratches marked where AP had been previously. Now standing close to the fence that separated the house’s perimeter from the woods. AP’s cloaked form crouched to make himself look less intimidating, within minutes the sunlight would reach him, it was just a matter of time. He had to see him, maybe not fully yet, but enough to know that yes, he was real, and yes, he was there.

6:03 AM.

AP sighed as he felt the sunlight hit his cloaked form partially, hoping for anything not disastrous to happen.

He’d been turning to the edge when he saw it, from the corner of his eye. Eyes widening as he gasped, taking in the very same form, only the edge of its head illuminated by the light. Heart racing, chest heaving with the rushes breaths, the world went still for a second. 

Before it went back to playing, playing a horror movie. He choked on his scream as he struggled to get out of the water, towel forgotten as he rushed inside his house. What should he do? Call his friend? The cops? The firefighters? _The President?_

Panting, running to the kitchen where his phone was charging, wet hands struggled to unlock the screen as he growled to himself, “That’s not a fucking bear, bears don’t look like that! Bears are not that fucking big! WORK DAMNIT!” He all but cried, tears prickling the corners of his eyes as he heard the door he came in shutting closed.

Phone still in hand, wet feet slipped as he tried running upstairs, falling and hitting his knee, almost hitting his head if it wasn’t for the massive hand that closed around his arm, catching him in time.

Craning his neck at an odd angle, he was faced with the haunter of his dreams, a blur of green and black with _teeth_ , eyes widening, he opened his mouth to scream, only to have it covered by yet another hand, the last thing he felt being his whole body tensing and then giving out to the panic, vision fading out, grunts and growling lost to his ears as he fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to know what you think! <3


	4. Chapter 4

Heavy eyes and a pounding head were the first things he felt. The pain making him squeeze his eyes before trying to open them, his neck also hurt, he didn’t remember laying down.

Laying down? 

Looking around, he was in his room. His fish tank right beside his bed, along with his pictures-.

He was attacked.

Gasping and sitting up, looking around in clear panic now, looking for the blur that attacked him. He was swimming, he saw something, he rushed inside, his phone-,

His phone was charging on his nightstand, a message from his friend on the screen. “..What?” He muttered, hand rubbing his temple, trying to ease the headache he had.

He ran inside, got his phone, tried climbing the stairs, he fell, did he hit his head? No, his wrist, something got his wrist. He’d been in swimming shorts then. Lifting the covers, he saw the shorts he wore to sleep yesterday.

Yesterday? Was it a dream? 

He shook his head, grabbing his phone from the stand, 1 PM.

1 PM. He slept all morning.

Confused noises left him as he checked his messages. 

“ Ethan/Smartass - 10:46 AM  
What’s up? My controllers arrived, wanna test them?

Ethan/Smartass - 11:03 AM  
You still sleeping? Jesus, I thought your morning swim was sacred lmao

Ethan/Smartass - 12:43 PM  
Okay, I’m fucking worried now, I’m coming over bitch.”

“Wha-”, He barely had time to finish before he heard Ethan banging on his front door, yelling his name.

Opening his window and sticking his head out, squinting at the light in his eyes, he looked down at his friend, “Hey! I need the door intact!”

“Oh thank fucking GOD, Where the FUCK have you been?! You-, were you fucking sleeping?!”

“Hold on! I’m coming down!” He said, almost leaving until something else caught his attention. The tree close to his window his marks on it, as if something _big_ had been on it. “Oh my God…”

“Mr. Merman! I’m tired of waitinnng!” His friend yelled again.

Shaking his head he rushed downstairs, looking around carefully before opening his front door.

“Fucking finally, I was about to-Woah! Calm down, my shirt is new, let go, let go!” Ethan was all but pulled inside, the door being closed and locked behind him.

“Some very fucking weird shit happened again,” He started, grabbing his friend, still looking around as if they were being watched. “The thing is back again and this time it almost fucking killed me!”

“Thing? You mean the murderer? The bear on steroids? Well why the fuck were you _sleeping_ then?” His friend asked, fishing his phone out, “We have to call the co-HEY” Ethan yelled as he snatched the phone out of his hands, holding it out from him. 

“It was no man, no bear on steroids, it was something else, we can’t just call the cops!”

“Oh God”, His friend started, hands coming up to his head, whining, “Oh no, don’t tell me you think it’s an alien, please don’t.”

“I don’t know if it’s an alien or not, but it’s not human, humans don’t fucking disappear out of thin air.”

His friend chuckled, “I know some that do,”

“I’m not joking!” He swatted his friend’s arm, who just laughed, “Dude, you’re stressed. You broke up recently, it was a...very long and drawn out relationship, the murders were your like, breaking point. This is all stress, man, do you want to like, spend the night at my place? we can talk and play some games… _test those new controllers, ay?_ what you say?” He smiled, trying so hard to cheer him up.

“I...I don’t know, maybe. I’ll let you know later”, He said, scratching the back of his neck, handing his friend his phone again. “Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s good”, he said, grabbing his phone, “You want me to stay here with you? I mean, if you’re afraid?”

“No, it’s fine, I’m just...I think I was just impressed by everything like you said,” he smiled softly, “Thanks for looking out for me, Ethan.”

“Anytime, Mr.Merman,” he winked, “I’m going home then, but if you feel bad again, call me, I mean it.” He said seriously. “Feel free to pop up at my place as well, alright?”

“Yeah, alright, will do.” He smiled and hugged his friend, walking him to the door. “I’ll see you later then! I mean-, maybe!”

“Maybe!” He laughed as he hopped on his bike, waving before riding off.

He watched his friend until he was but a dot at the very far end of the street, taking the right turn and disappearing. 

Checking the time, 1:24 PM. 

Sighing, he looked around, squinting as he tried so hard to spot anything out of the ordinary, any movement in the woods, from the bark to up the leaves. In his dream-, if it was really a dream, he remembered how quiet the morning was. He'd often swim listening to the birds chirping around, flying in and out of the woods, singing loudly in their freedom, but the dream was dead silent, the sun had already been up, they should have been around...Maybe they knew the creature was around too.

A stomach growl pulled him from his thoughts. A reminder that it was not only past lunchtime but that he hadn't eaten _anything <\i> yet. Shaking his head, the hungry swimmer got inside, locking the door behind him, still puzzled as he walked to the kitchen._

_What in the world would want to kill him? He hadn't had bad ghost dreams since he was a child, for fuck's sake. Was it a metaphor? Breaking up had him feeling vulnerable?_

_He tried cooking something, only to burn his fingertip, racing thoughts making it hard to focus. By 2 PM he had already eaten and was back at his room. Feeding his fishes soothed him some, watching them eat as he continued to ponder. Maybe he was overthinking it._

_But maybe not._

_It would be hours until the sunset, he felt anxious. Maybe he really should spend the night at Ethan’s, try to get some sleep, and just enjoy the company of his friend, whom he appreciated so much. Laying back on the bed, he sighed as he thought._

_That was it, he was going to call Ethan and tell him he’d accept the offer._

_Getting back up, his shorts pulled against his thigh, revealing part of his knee, just briefly. Sitting on the bed, he pulled his knee up, confused as he stared it at._

_A bruise._

_Eyes widened as he remembered, he tried running upstairs, the floor was slippery, his feet were wet. He fell, hit his knee hard, and thought his head was next when he was grabbed by it._

_The thing was real._

_Panicking, he got up in a rush, running to the window as he hoped he was still dreaming. The scratches were still on the tree, had it entered his house before? Had it been watching him? Why wasn't he dead already? Why didn't it kill him?_

_He panted, running back to the bed, shaking hands struggling to grab the phone._

_But then again, who would he call? Who would believe him? What would they even do? If anything he'd be called crazy. He wasn't safe._

_He couldn't go after Ethan or else he'd be in danger too. "God, what the fuck is happening?" He looked around briefly, trying to gather himself. "Okay, think," he told himself, "What reasons would that thing have?... Because I'm stupid and easy prey, Jesus," He thought, pacing back and forth._

_The afternoon passed by excruciatingly slowly. He couldn't keep still, flashes of the early morning creeping back to him. It watched him, it followed him into his home but it didn't...hurt him._

_What did it want?_

_Looking back to the woods as the sun began to set, he made a decision._

_He’d go after it._


	5. Chapter 5

Getting dressed properly, he gathered what he was taking with him to the woods. He couldn’t take food afraid it’d attract the bears, so he took a water bottle, a flashlight, his phone, a small, dusty medkit, and a multi-tool pocket knife.

While shoving the items into a backpack, he texted Ethan, telling him he wouldn’t be showing up, but not telling him about his plan either. 

Checking the time, 4:02 PM.

Great, he still had a few hours before the sunset. Not that he planned on coming back early...or coming back at all. Looking at his fish tank, he smiled tightly as he set his feeder with enough food for a few days, if he did indeed disappear, he was sure Ethan would take care of them.

He sighed as he slung the backpack over his shoulder, taking the ‘knife’ and flashlight in each hand, heading out the door. As he stepped outside, he stared at the forest’s entrance, gaze shifting from one tree to another as the seconds passed.

This was so goddamn stupid it was almost funny, ‘College student wanders into woods and disappears while a serial killer is on the loose’, how...fucking obvious. Sounded just as stupid as himself, ‘how fitting’ he thought as he closed his house, walking over to the fence.

Opening the gate that gave out to the woods, he finally felt the goosebumps creep up his body as he really realized what he was going to do, where he was going, and what for. Every second he asked himself if this was really all happening, how had it escalated like this and so quickly as well.

Looking at his watch, 4:10 PM. That was it, that was the time he left the safety of his home in the middle of a serial killer alert. He took a deep breath and walked forward, boots crushing the dry leaves under them as he went.

He walked for a full hour before he started to feel weird. Not the ‘I’m in danger’ kind of weird, no. But the kind that told you that things weren’t exactly in their normal. He stopped, drank water, had a look around, and kept going.

Checking the time, 5:25 PM.

As he walked, he thought. Was he even following the right direction? What would he find? If he _did_ find anything at all. 

you could say he felt tired walking up and down the forest, wiping sweat off his brow every now and then, earth business wasn’t his forte, he felt like a...Fish out of water. He concluded. 

Ethan would smack him for even thinking of that pun.

He smiled to himself as he thought of his friend. Maybe he was being dramatic and nothing would happen, maybe it was all just one of those crazy chains of events that you had no idea how came to be and just forgot about it as you got older, still telling the story to your skeptical grandchildren. Maybe that was just it.

“God, all this walk for no mons-” He stopped mid whisper as he heard something snapping behind him, turning around as fast as his body allowed him, he found nothing, not that he believed in the slightest that it was actually nothing.

Eyes darting from bush to bush, rock to rock, he thought about every emergency training he’d ever had in his life, how to deal with bears, how to protect yourself from a fire, how to behave when gravely injured and found that none of them were useful for the thing that came out from one of the bushes seconds later.

“Oh my fucking God-”, Was all he managed to say at the thing snarling at him.

The thing- the beast-, the goddamn _monster_ was the size of a dog if that dog had eaten three other dogs, a lizard, and suffered mutation from eating the said lizard. Its skin was scally and glistened in the light, its face looked mangled but with no apparent blood, so that must have just been it’s natural looks, though he really wasn’t staying to make sure.

Color draining from his face, he darted through the bushes. Chest working rapidly as he desperately gasped for air as he ran, hearing the, whatever it was, barking and snapping behind him. Feeling the backpack hitting the small of his back painfully as he stumbled between the fallen twigs of the trees, he jumped over a rock, catching yet another silhouette from the corner of his eye, heart racing even more as he noticed that there wasn’t only one but _two_ of them.

He was running and running until something grabbed his backpack and yanked him off the ground, his legs kicking as he screamed, chest heaving as he thrashed around, watching as the ground slipped further and further from his feet. Kicking legs recoiled as the creatures caught up and tried to jump up to bite him, "Let go! Let fucking GO!" His arms flailed around as he gasped, his left hand hitting something very hard, making him freeze momentarily, eyes widening as a loud growl made him crane his neck just in time to see a figure materializing itself out of thin air.

"Oh my G-, oh my God-," He panted in panic, struggling to get air into his lungs as finally, the blurred face from that very morning appeared before of him again, only this time in as much definition as the human eye could provide.

It was a nightmare come alive. The very first thing on his face were the tusks, as sharp and dangerous as the small tool knife he had dropped when he was hoisted up. It was huge. He was high enough in the air that he felt his belly drop every time he dangled, or maybe it was the 10-foot tall creature holding him up as a snack for its...dogs, he didn't know.

His chin wouldn't stop moving as he struggled to form up words, what even was there to say? No? Please? Don't kill me? Let me go? He had looked for it, and well, he found it, there was no way around it.

He opened his mouth for the hundredth time when the creature let out a sneeze like sound, making him scream in fright, then shaking its head only to go back to stare at him, still very much growling.

"What the fuck?!" Was all he could let out, and for someone who had fainted that very morning, he thought he was doing good.

-

"What the fuck?!" His human screamed at him. It wasn't his fault, really. The scent of his fear made him sick. What was often motivating and wicked now became fowl and too much to breathe in. This was not what he had planned.

Not at all.

He managed to scare, traumatize, and almost have his mate eaten by his dogs in less than a day. Brilliant.

But the pressing worry was that he couldn't simply let him go now. Not like this. Looking around, he clicked his tusks twice, his dogs scattering back to the ship as he himself started towards it, still holding his human up by his backpack as he went. 

"Where are you taking me-! What do you-, what do you want!" His human pressed, apparently having fished his tongue from the back of his throat again, smaller hands trying to reach his own, a vain attempt to free himself from his grip. It was not happening.

"Answer me! You-!"

_"Mr.Merman"_ He said, rumbling low from his chest, looking down at his mate in time to see his eyes rolling back into his skull, blacking out again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm @Wthtorke on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram! (And also on Ko-fi if you'd like to tip me lmao) Hope yall are liking it so far c:

**Author's Note:**

> I'm WthTorke on Tumblr (Where I answer Yautja asks!), Twitter, and Instagram!
> 
> Would love to know what you think!


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